Board Highlight
The Keta Legacy Foundation, also known as Mountaineers Foundation, has operated for more than 50 years with an all-volunteer Board of Directors. In this issue, we celebrate our Community Grants Committee Chair and long-time friend, Nancy Neyenhouse. She has been a fiercely dedicated volunteer to our organization.
Nancy Neyenhouse
- Has served on the Board for over 12 years and is currently secretary.
- Has been the Community Grants Committee Chair since 2007.
- Served as a past president of the Foundation for 4 years.
“My greatest passion since joining The Foundation has been working with the Community Grants Committee, administering The Foundation’s competitive Grants program. Our mission is to ‘foster understanding and inspire conservation throughout the Salish Sea region.’ Being able to support so many other organizations in the region allows us to expand our conservation mission throughout the watersheds and seascapes that are the heart of the Salish Sea.”
-Nancy Neyenhouse
Nancy has been passionate about the environment and conservation since her college days. With a degree in biology, she concentrated on native plants and their specific environments. Since then, she has worked for California State Park at Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park where she led nature hikes, Smith River snorkeling adventures, and Junior Ranger activities.
Nancy has also served as chair of the Mountaineers Conservation Committee. In that capacity, she worked on many Pacific Northwest conservation issues including the Carbon River area addition to Mount Rainier National Park.
Increasing Our Impact
One important way we fulfill our mission is by offering a competitive grant program to other conservation-minded non-profits. Our generous donors have increased the impact of our mission in the Salish Sea region by supporting our network of grantees.
The Washington Environmental Council is one of our grantees. We are proud to support their Orca Month activities. Pictured here, Sherman Elementary School kids present their artwork to the Tacoma City Council. The artwork was part of the student’s Orcas Love Raingardens curriculum. The kids and teachers enjoyed a photo opportunity with Tacoma Mayor Victoria Woodards.
Orcas Love Raingardens project is a collaborative program designed to highlight how raingardens can mitigate the impact of polluted stormwater runoff on salmon and orcas.
The program provides STEM and conservation education opportunities to schools and communities in Tacoma. It also gives teachers access to free curriculum resources that integrate raingardens into lesson plans while meeting Washington State’s “Next Generations Science Standards”.
2019 First Round Grantees
Join us in congratulating our 1st round of grantees in 2019!
- Camp Soloman Schecther
- Whatcom Land Trust
- SRS-SeaLife Response, Rehabilitation and Research
- Vashon Nature Center
- Washington Environmental Council
- Washington Association of Land Trusts
- Student Conservation Association
- TLP Media
- Great Peninsula Conservancy
We look forward to hearing about their marvelous accomplishments and are proud to support their efforts.
Conservation Education Update
Branch Out: A Tribute to Trees
The Foundation participated in Kitsap Regional Library’s Discover Outdoors kids program. Our very own Education Committee Chair, Katha Miller-Winder, engaged participants from ages 5 to adult with an exploration of trees and forests.
Great Peninsula Conservancy’s NextGen Outdoor Camp
We also partnered with the Great Peninsula Conservancy and hosted their NextGen Campers at the Rhododendron Preserve. The campers spent the day hiking to Big Tree and learned about the amazing properties of trees. We discussed the decline of pollinators and made seed bombs to increase the food supply for pollinators.
West Sound Wildlife Shelter brought 2 of their avian education ambassadors for the students to observe.
The day ended with campers exploring natural objects with senses other than their eyes. All in all, it was a great day!
Words in the Woods
The Foundation created a custom field trip for Woodland Elementary’s 3rd grade students. Our volunteers engaged the class in language arts by reading poetry to the students and playing word games.
After poetry and games, the students were guided on the trail to Big Tree.
This is just one example of our education program’s customizable field trips. For more information about field trips, visit our Education page.